Demon Slayer season 3: Top 5 biggest reveals from the Swordsmith Village arc

Demon Slayer season 3 ended with an hour-long spectacle last Sunday, bringing an end to the Swordsmith Village Arc.

This season had some of the best animation for the series yet, along with significant insights into the backstory of two more Hashiras. We saw all the Upper Moons and witnessed the demise of two of them.

The finale blessed us with a look into Muzan Kibutsuji’s past; how he turned into a demon and what his end goal is. The fourth season of the anime, which will cover the Hashira Training Arc, has already been announced. However, there is no official release date yet. Fans can expect it in late 2024 or early 2025.

Let’s dive into the biggest reveals of Demon Slayer season 3 before we start counting down the days for the next season.

1. The Infinity Castle and Five Upper Moons

Animation studio Ufotable hit it out of the park from the very first episode, especially with the sequences set in Muzan Kibutsuji’s Infinity Castle. The camera zooming through the different dimensions within the infinite space of the castle looked even more captivating if you watched the premiere episode in a theater.

In this scene, fans are introduced to the other five Upper Moons. So far, we had only seen Upper Three Akaza, who was responsible for Kyojuro Rengoku’s death. The Biwa Demon summons Upper Five Gyokko, Upper Four Hantengu, Upper Two Doma, and Upper One Kokushibo.

Muzan rebukes them for failing to find a flower called Blue Spider Lily, which is significant for reasons we find out later. The Michael Jackson lookalike sends Gyokko and Hantengu off on a mission.

2. A well-kept secret

Meanwhile, our beloved protagonist Tanjiro Kamado starts off the season in rehab after defeating the Upper Six Demons, siblings Gyutaro and Daki. Tanjiro needs a new sword, again. He is escorted by Kakushi members to the Swordsmith Village, where a hidden weapon lies waiting to be discovered.

On his quest to find the weapon, Tanjiro overhears the Mist Hashira Muichiro Tokito arguing with a village boy named Kotetsu. Muichiro trains with an advanced mechanical doll with six hands made in the image of a master swordsman who lived three centuries ago. Even though the character has not really been explored in the anime yet, every Demon Slayer fan knows who the doll looked like: Yoriichi Tsugikuni.

After training with Muichiro, Tanjiro begins training with Yoriichi Type Zero. Almost depleted from exhaustion and without food and water, Tanjiro finally manages to land a killer strike on the doll, shattering its head and revealing a concealed sword inside.

Tanjiro later uses this sword to perform Hinokami Kagura, also known as Sun Breathing, to save the village and his comrades. Now that the weapon has been honed and sharpened by Hotaru Haganezuka, it would be fitting for Tanjiro to use it to fight his future battles.

3. Muichiro, Mitsuri, and Genya: Demon Slayer backstories

Demon Slayer digs into the backstories of its characters — each of which are varying degrees of tragic — right when they have their backs against the wall in a fight.

Muichiro Tokito gets his memory back while being trapped in a water bubble by Gyokko. The mist, which symbolizes his fogged memory, finally clears. He remembers spending his childhood doing everyday chores with his twin brother Yuichiro after the death of his parents.

They didn’t speak much, except when Yuichiro was berating him for having a soft, gentle soul. They start communicating the night a demon attacks their home, but it’s too late. Lady Amane, the wife of Kagaya Ubuyashiki, shows up in time to save Muichiro, but his brother is lost.

Mitsuri Kanroji’s isn’t as sad, but is quite poignant. She was born gifted with an abnormal muscular constitution, showing signs of great durability even as a child. However, she expected her life to play out like that of a normal female of that age: grow up, get married and have a family. Things didn’t go according to plan. She grew up to be a woman with superhuman strength and pink-green hair, which was strange and intimidating enough for every potential groom to turn her down.

When we first met Mitsuri, she said she joined the Demon Slayer Corps to find a husband. Reading between the lines, it may have been to find acceptance and acknowledgment among people of her kind, where her strength is treasured and not looked down upon.

Genya Shinazugawa grew up with many siblings, including older brother Sanemi Shinazugawa, the Wind Hashira. They both failed to save any of their brothers and sisters when their hardworking single mother turned into a demon and attacked her children at the break of dawn.

Sanemi had to kill her with his own hands in front of Genya. They lost everyone but each other. The moment broke the two brothers inside and they still have not recovered.

4. Nezuko conquers the sun

The biggest moment of the anime takes place in the final episode of season 3, a milestone moment that prompted hundreds of reaction videos across the fandom: Nezuko becomes the first demon in history to conquer the sun, a turning point for Demon Slayer.

Nezuko standing in the sun, speaking her first words since turning and hugging Tanjiro, is undoubtedly one of the best moments of the show so far. As for how she managed to do it, there are several theories. It is widely believed that Nezuko could do it because she comes from a lineage of Sun Breathing users and maintained her humanity by helping people rather than eating them.

5. How Muzan Kibutsuji turned into a demon

We get a peek into the past of the primary antagonist Muzan Kibutsuji, learning how he turned into the original demon 1,000 years ago.

Before he began his reign of terror in Japan, Muzan was a regular man in the Heian period with a mysterious illness. To treat his condition, Muzan sought out a quack doctor who predicted he would not live past 20. The doctor gave him a potion, but an impatient Muzan ended up killing him before the disease was cured.

That kill may just be the only murder Muzan Kibutsuji regrets.

Without continuous dosage, the medicine turned him into a demon who craved human blood and could not step out in the sun. He started killing people remorselessly, all the while looking for the key ingredient that made the potion effective: a very rare flower, a blue spider lily.

When the news of Nezuko conquering the sun reaches Muzan, he sets his mind on devouring her to gain power. Together with the lilies, Muzan believes this would secure him the blessing of eternal life.

Which moment in Demon Slayer season 3 was your favorite?

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